Writing for Anthropology

Teacher X from anthropology said that writing is very important in this field. All of the research that we do in our field has to be recorded and typed in reports. Proper and effective communication is extremely important because professionals from all over read and review all the published reports. Your reports are criticized by many people due to their methodology, hypotheses, and conclusions about their findings, so the last thing that they need to be criticized on is their grammar. The reports and articles are also published in magazines and journals. A lot of reports take years to get published after the research has already been done, partly because people don't want to deal with all the criticism that goes along with getting it published. Anthropology research, especially the artifact collection part is very detailed and precise, so being able to report it in a logical and organized manner is important. Teacher X realizes that the students are not yet professionals in their field so X doesn’t expect them to be perfect writers. X will make comments and subtract points for some grammar errors, but what’s really more important is that the students are able to show an understanding about the material that they have learned. As long as they get the big picture and are able to write about what they have learned and use examples, that is more important then some grammar errors. X thinks that for the most part the students have a pretty decent grip on grammar but almost everyone could use a refresher course so that they can learn why they seem to keep making the same errors. It takes experience and the more reading, writing, and research that you do will just keep making you better and better at your writing in the field.